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Arrows
Arrows are used by archers throughout the hemisphere. Along with the Rangers; the Royal scouts; the boys in Araluan villages of one hundred or more; the Araluen-Skandian archery units; the Temujai; the Senshi bowmen; the Outsiders; and every other archer also uses arrows. Each arrow has a tip, a shaft and feathers on the end to make it fly straight. Arrows differ from bolts, the ammunition of the crossbow. Arrows vary greatly from archer to archer. For example, Halt uses black shafted arrows and Will uses grey shafted arrows. There are many types found throughout the hemisphere. General purpose Arrows This arrow is the standard issue arrow of the Rangers and the Temujai because of its ability to pierce armor. Its tip is very pointed and can be seen on the Ranger's Apprentice logo. Because of this arrow's lack of sides that secure the arrow in the flesh and cause more damage if the victim attempts to dislodge the projectile, the arrow can be removed, sanitized, and reused, although the Rangers, who rely on swift, quick and killing shots to the head or vital organs for a fleeting end, consider this idea distasteful. Broadhead Arrows This arrow has a larger than normal tip and its slanted sides tear through fur and fat which many arrows will become trapped in. Its sides also leave the arrow in the wound and cause death by bleeding if quarry escapes. It is important to note that these arrows are ineffective against armor. Given this, the arrow is primarily used for hunting, as the prey is sometimes strong enough to remove a normal arrow, and as animals normally do not wear armor. These arrows might have been used at the boar hunt in the first book. Poison-dipped Arrows These arrows are dipped in poison to cause an even quicker fate as the neurotoxin on the arrow enters the bloodstream and spreads to the rest of the body. The arrow is never actually used, but poisoned bolts are used by Genovesan Assassins. Flaming Arrows Though it is rare in the series, the Rangers have been said to set arrows on fire and shoot them at wood or hay that cannot be reached to cause spreading damage, or as a diversion. Will used a flaming arrow in book two, "The Burning Bridge". During the Kalkara hunt in The Ruins of Gorlan, Will used a flaming arrow to kill the last Kalkara as their fur is highly flammable. In the The Emperor of Nihon-Ja, Halt shoots a flaming arrow into General Todoki's camp to trigger them to attack and set a couple tents on fire. A flaming arrow may have also been used to burn Deparnieux's castle, Chateau Montsombre, in The Icebound Land, although Halt claims that it was done using a torch and oily rags. During A New Beginning Will used flaming arrows to set the Iberians Ship alight in Hawkshead Bay. Spiked Arrows Spiked arrows are one of the deadliest types of arrows as they can tear through armor with ease. They are heavier than normal arrows and are said to look like a cold chisel. Halt used them in his duel against Lord Deparnieux. Deparnieux caught the regular arrows on his shield, but the spiked arrow was heavier than the others and dipped under the shield into Deparnieux's chainmail, killing him almost instantly. Message Arrows These arrows cause no damage themselves, but are used to carry messages to places inaccessible to the Ranger that fires them, such as enemy prison cells. The arrow, instead of having a point has a cylinder that can open up to put a message in. Before anything can be fired, the paper must be weighed and a little math must be done in order to calculate the perfect trajectory of the arrow. Will used this arrow to send a message to Alyss when she was imprisoned by Sir Keren in Castle Macindaw's keep tower. Bodkin Arrows This arrow is special because it has no barbs or points that stick outwards. In all simplicity it is just a single point, like a giant dart, and used to pierce through armor with extreme speed. It has yet to be used the series. Category:Projectile Weapons